Spring in the Haze
by Sensational Sista
Summary: As May, Ash and the gang head home to Kanto to see Misty, May begins to notice some changesin herself. Something scary, confusing, new and exciting begins to unfold in her emotions and the adventure has just begun...AshMistyMay
1. A Bad Idea?

Story: Spring in the Haze  
By: Sensational Sista  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the charatcers of Pokemon  
**A.N.** Wow i finally got to posting this. i'm pretty excited just cause i wanted to post this for, like, ever. haha. so anyway, this fic will have both Imageshipping and Pokeshipping. Don't know what Imageshipping is you say? google it if you cannot wait, or just read the story :3  
I hope you enjoy. Happy reading!

Taking place near the end of Hoenn :)  
Character Ages:  
May: 14  
Misty: 16  
Ash: 15  
Max: 10  
Brock: 17

_-CHAPTER 1-_

The stars were twinkling in the midnight sky. The pokemon in the lush forest had called it a day hours ago, and even some of the late night pokemon were getting ready to sleep. People as well were tucked away in their beds for the night.

Even the travelers who found themselves in the woods had gone to sleep, the embers of campfires flickering before going out completely. All was still, except for the blinking of two glittering, cobalt eyes.

May gazed from her sleeping bag up into the dark skies. Her blue eyes occasionally darted from star to star as her thoughts wandered.

The young brunette trainer was not one to normally be up at such hours of the night. Quite the contrary. She highly valued her sleep time as to look and feel her best in the morning. This night however she found her brain working overtime. The day's previous events posed unnerving thoughts in her head, and she didn't even understand why. Something was wrong though.

'_Why did I agree to this?_' she thought distractedly. '_If only I had listened to Max for a change.._'

-

_The group of four and Pikachu exited a small village after having some brunch. Brock was at the lead for a change with Ash following a footstep or so behind. Next in line was May, tugging at her red bandana trying to adjust its fit, and her little brother walked closely at the rear. _

_As the village disappeared from view and a lush forest sprang up, May smiled lightly._

_Things were good. She won her last pokemon contest with flying colors and that kept her spirits up. She patted her pouch where the pretty ribbon rested. She even listened as her brother babbled on about some type of mating dance of Magikarp._

_The boy with his Hoenn red cap on, spun about to face his two younger companions. The 15 year old had an odd look on his face, one which May could not differentiate between unsureness and glee. She tilted her head in wonderment._

"_May, Max," the black haired boy started. He kept his light trot, backwards to boot, up as Pikachu sat on his shoulder as a second set of eyes. "Brock and I were wondering something."_

"_What is it?" May asked curiously. Her friend always seemed to chose the oddest topics and oddest places to talk, even if he seemed serious._

_By that time the team had made it into the forest. Brock continued to lead._

_Ash smiled nervously. "Well, we were discussing how maybe it would time for a break. Ya know, since you just won your latest contest." He motioned to his brunette friend. She smiled and nodded. "So he suggested we go home to visit Kanto. He wants to check in with his siblings and I'd love to see my mother."_

_Max smiled joyfully. "Ah that's great!"_

"_Mhm," agreed the aspiring pokemon master. "So we also wanted to know if you'd like to join us."_

_The little blue haired child weakened the smile on his face. "I think if this break is to visit families, we should stop by our own home. Right May?" His glasses shined as he glanced up to his sister, while trying to keep in step with her._

_Particularly, May did not really wish to head home. Heck, it had felt like only days ago that they last visited! _'But maybe it'd make Max happy.. Okay I guess we'll.._'_

_May opened her mouth to respond but-_

"_Hey don't forget we'll be stopping by at Cerulean." Brock's deep voice interrupted the thought process going on in May's head and soon to suddenly freeze the thought process altogether. "We have to check in on Misty."_

_The coordinater blinked.'_That name.._'_

_Pikachu and Ash smiled happily at the reminder. He then turned his attention back to his Hoenn friends. "So got any ideas?"_

_Adjusting his glasses, Max began." I think we'll-"_

"_GO!" The voice was so sharp, so crisp, and so_ loud,_ that all the Y chromosome bearing members looked shocked and a little frightened. May's voice was so automatic to respond that it was just surprising. In the suddenness as well, Pikachu did not warn its master about the approaching tree stump, which ended up knocking the duo to the ground._

_May gasped and ran up to make sure Ash's hard skull hadn't cracked. "Sorry, Ash. Are you alright?"_

_The boy nodded a bit dizzily from the earth. But, with Brock's help, he stood back on his feet. Looking May in the eyes he said, "I guess that means we're all heading to Kanto."_

"_Er.. Yeah. To Kanto we go!" May's voice stuttered nervously. She did her best to ignore Max's bewildered face as she slipped ahead of him and behind Ash and Brock. She chewed her lip uneasily, while rethinking what happened in her head. Something in her snapped at that moment and she did not understand it one bit._

_-_

Her arms rested beneath her head, acting as if a pillow. Her eyes had glazed over slightly recalling the day. Who would have guessed that such a simple topic would cause her so much stress? '_I didn't_.' May sarcastically thought viewing her situation.

'_I can't believe I couldn't contain myself_,' she thought dejectedly. '_I was ready to agree with Max on visiting our home. So incredibly ready.. when I just jumped on the offer to visit Kanto. Why did Brock have to mention Cerulean? No that wasn't it._' The brunette closed her sapphire eyes mid-thought. '_Why did he have to mention..._'

Her. The girl which May had heard about from Ash's many stories of his Kanto training and the Orange League and Whirl Cup and Johto journeys. May met her but a handful of times, yet she could still conclude this water trainer was an exceptional person. May's subconscious slowly threw together a blur of images until a memory played in her head.

_The image of a pretty river with her own reflection in it came to her mind. Then turning to a voice, musical yet strong, May saw the shadowed figure coming into view from the seemingly glowing white light around her: Red hair. Aqua eyes. Yellow jacket. Pokemon in her arms. And a bright and cheerful smile. May could not help but smile back in overwhelming excitement..._

Her blue eyes opened up again to stare out into the endless night sky. The memories of that first meeting flooded her mind, but then, just as quickly, they dissipated and that made her smile kind of sad.

'_What is wrong with me?_' She didn't understand. '_I'm being paranoid for no reason. Maybe I'm coming down with something.. Perhaps Brock's dinner wasn't so good this time..?'_

She let out a heavy sigh, wanting relief from her plaguing thoughts. May rolled to her side under her sleeping bag and pulled her arms up to her chest. She hugged herself slightly to help her calm down enough to sleep. Finally she was able to get her rest for that night.

The next day would take them team ever closer to Kanto and bring May into a journey more surprising than she ever expected.

-  
-  
-

**A.N. **Ohhhh, poor May. She should really inspect Brock's cooking before eating, no?

So first chapter is posted. the next is longer. i'll post in a while. no promises with updates on a regular basis. it is a forwarning lol  
I'll see ya'll around!


	2. Back to Cerulean

Story: Spring in the Haze  
By: Sensational Sista  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Pokemon  
**A.N.** Ah Next chappie is here.

_-CHAPTER 2-_

A new day was soon upon the travelers.

The sun was shining.

The Tailos were singing.

And our group was on their way to the docks.. In a hurry!

The woods were not far from the town. Arrival in the town had not taken long from the campsite. They were up a little after dawn and had planned to set off at 8. There was a slight change in the plans as May had overslept and then caused a fuss over how her hair was just awful that day. To the boy's dismay, May delayed them a good hour.

The ferry to take them across the sea would leave promptly at 12:30. The group had just arrived at the far side of the town and the clock at the town center began its mid-hour toll.

"Wah! We're gonna miss the boat!"

"Run!" May and Ash sprinted off in the direction they figured would lead to the docks. Calls from their fellow teammates far behind were lost on their ears. What they did hear though, was the fog horn on the ferry: Warning One.

The duo raced down the sidewalks, thanking that the town was not that busy at the lunch hour. May took a turn down a block to her right, grabbing Ash's arm to spin him in the process. She, unlike him, had been to the town at least once before. By default she had to know the directions better.

Yet she started second guessing herself when the two people reached a dead end of an alley.

The electric mouse, hugging its trainer's shoulder, then hopped onto the ground and sped off. Not thinking twice Ash took off after Pikachu, with May hot on his heels. The next fog horn sounded.

Pikachu lead the way, following the scent of the sea and pretty soon the docks were in view. They could see the ferry along dock 5 and, to their great surprise, Max and Brock had beaten them to it and were waving from a spot on deck. The two trainers ran forward onto the wooden docks as the last horn blew. The loading ramp was lifted up and the boat began to take off.

"No, we're almost there!" cried the tired high pitched voice.

"This feels like deja vu.." grumbled the pokemon trainer in front of her. "We're gonna have to jump!"

'_Is he crazy?_' "Are you crazy?!" May couldn't believe it, but as they approached the edge of the docks with the tail of the boat in front of them, she realized this was a sink or swim situation... which may end up being literal!

"On three!"

The brunette silently agreed. '_As if I have a choice._' The countdown was so quick, May nearly missed Ash's call of "three", but she managed to propel herself off of the wooden dock.

Max and Brock had made their way to the back of the boat in order to 'cushion' their friend's leap of fate. May made it farthest and Brock rushed to catch her, collapsing back as he did so. Max was the unlucky one who had the misfortune of needing to grab Ash's elbow to make sure he didn't lose his balance and fall into the sea.

Soon enough, though, the group was all safe and onboard the boat. May excused herself from the group saying she needed to catch her breath, which was not a lie.

She walked up to the uppermost deck and leaned against the railing. Her gaze moved from the town they were leaving to the horizon. In a couple of hours they would be docking in Cerulean City. Her hands still grasping the railing, she leaned back onto her heals and let a huge grin spread onto her face as the midday sun shined down on her and the sea's blue water.

---

Cerulean City was well known for it's magnificent glass buildings and the sea which was beside it. The water was reflected so magnificently that many travelers were put into a breathless awe. The glittering sun's rays on the water has been captivated throughout the city. But no time was prettier than then. It was 5 o'clock and the golden setting sun was at it's prime.

The group of travelers onboard the incoming ferry stood along the outer deck, each smiling widely. Max and May couldn't steal their eyes away from the buildings, while Brock and Ash were checking around the port observing the crowds in that early evening.

The loud foghorn blew, and soon the boat was docked against a cement deck. Still rocking in the wake of other boats, the boat swayed lightly as the passengers disembarked.

The four kids hopped off and Ash claimed the spot of leader. The rest fell in behind him. May actually trusted his direction knowledge here, unlike that last town. She took up the rear this time.

The shops were bustling even at the later hour. May was more used to the Hoenn cities closing earlier so it was definitely a different experience. "Wow! Shopping at every hour! I'd love to live in this city." The boys chuckled at her comment, being in such a merry mood. As the road widened slightly and the more rural side of the city came about, the brunette trotted ahead a little and soon the group found themselves all walking side-by-side.

A posted billboard map was in front of them and Brock made a quick check at it.

"Hey Ash," May began. "Misty's the gym leader here right?" The proud grin and nod she got in response made her sweat embarrassedly. "Sheesh, it's not your accomplishment, why do _you_ sound so proud?" Ash ended up face faulting.

The eldest stepped in between the little situation. "Well let's go guys."

"You know.." May started absentmindedly. "I was here as a really young child, just after Max was born... but I can't remember seeing a gym. Did it even exist back then?"

Ash cocked his head. "I believe so.. I wouldn't really know about Cerulean until after I started my journey."

Raising a hand in consideration, Brock stated that it would be pretty hard to forget the gym there. It was pretty unique and this left May feeling clueless.

-

In the distance, through the golden skies, a building began to take form. A giant Dewgong was on top of large doors and it's roof was so yellow and pink that the building itself looked like a huge circus tent. Two blue eyes widened at the site and a smile appeared on her lips. May stopped and pointed at the building. "Guys! That's where my parents and I saw a water ballet!"

Brock gave her a questioning look over his shoulder and then smirked. "I thought you didn't remember the gym here."

'_What?_' May squinted an eye in confusion. "I don't.. Wait this..." '_Misty couldn't be a gym leader at that place, could she? Does that mean she was at the water ballet I went to all those years ago? Oh man! This is amazing. I could have even met her and not remember! Take that Ashy boy!_' Her eyes were aglow with an unseen fire.

"May, that look always means you have something odd on your mind," Max pointed out from years of experience with his sister. The older of the two suddenly looked down at her brother and a look of confusion spread onto her features. She darted ahead of him, a sudden new thought entered the cavities of her mind.

'_Did I just try to compete with Ash in my mind_?' She shook her head. '_What am I even competing over? What's wrong with me lately?'_

"Come on guys, last one there's a rotten Exeggcute!" A smile spread across Ash's lips as he picked up the pace and his electric mouse cheered from his shoulder.

"Pika Pika!"

May shook her head from her absurd thoughts and followed Ash. The group all turned their walking into a sprint as they raced to the gym.

May pushed her legs hard to try to catch up to Ash Ketchum, who was well ahead of her due to a head start. She gained distance quickly but realized that the gym doors were right ahead of her and Ash was still a good 10 steps ahead still. She decided to slow to a trot before stopping to catch her breath.

Her ears tried to block out the cheers of victory which Ash called out while dancing around childishly. Max and Brock went by May, both walking by then too.

Just as May turned to walk towards the gym with her friends, she stopped, eyes focused directly on the sliding front doors. The glass slid open and out stepped an orange foot followed by another. These shoes matched with a head full of red hair. A tiny Azuril hopped out as well. May was frozen for a second or so, but this paralysis didn't last long.

"Ash? Everyone? What are you all doing here?" came a curiously surprised question from the Cerulean City gym leader.

"We decided to take a trip from our journey and pay you a visit!" the black haired teen said with enthusiasm while Pikachu agreed from his shoulder.

The bright smile which lit up Misty's face at that statement made the word 'cute' come to May's mind. It was fine, she reassured herself. All girls could refer to themselves as cute. '_Now if it was a guy on the other hand..._'

The Hoenn girl took a few steps up towards the gathering group, praying she'd make a better greeting this time than her 'over excited' one at their first meeting about a year ago. She had made a total spaztic fool of herself she was sure.

Misty gave hugs to all the boys, so happy she could see them again. She pulled away from Max and looked beyond the small group towards the lone girl clad in red. The red head could obviously pick up a nervous aura being given off by her younger friend. So she closed her eyes and smiled in a bright greeting. "Hi May!"

May looked flustered as she searched for something to say. _'Be cool.. Calm down. Just say something good. You can do this. Go for it!_' May seemed to find her shoes very interesting as she responded. "H-Hi.." '_Oh that was lame! Good job May. Just think of a more generic greeting why don't you? She probably thinks you're a timid little kid right -'_

The brunette's train of though ended abruptly as she felt a body envelope her in a tight embrace. After a second's hesitation, May pieced together that it was Misty hugging her. Red hair against her cheek and the smell of Sea Breeze shampoo in her hair. These were things she had learned over their last few meetings.

A few seconds after her realization, May wrapped her arms awkwardly back around the water trainer. She wanted to speak, to say something but couldn't will her mouth to do so. Then she heard a giggle and the words "It's good to see you too, May."

Misty pulled away from the dumbstruck brunette and smiled happily. Feeling a little better, May nodded shyly and smiled calmly too, even if on the inside she was dancing. '_Misty's so.. so.. awesome!_'

Misty turned to the boys. "I bet you are all starved after this trip. It's getting close to dinner too." She motioned inside. "I had dinner cooking already, so chop chop. Let's go people!"

She walked towards the gym and Max and May began to follow her, but were yanked back by Ash and Brock. "What's wrong you guys?" Max asked as he looked up to his eldest friends.

By then Misty had spun around, her wrists pressing into her hips as she leaned forward. She had a peculiarly ticked off face on and she raised an eyebrow at her friends. "Yeah _guys_, what's wrong?"

Blinking back and forth between a white faced Ash and a red faced Misty, May dared to speak her opinion of the situation. "Ash, she's going to kill you if you don't go in to eat, for whatever reason that is, so why not cooperate?"

Ash looked to May in true horror. "Wether I eat or not, I'm still going to be killed! You've never had to stomach her cooking!"

"Ash Ketchum! I'll teach you to 'stomach my cooking'!"

"No! Get back! I-I have Pikachu!"

"Guys. Guys." Brock interrupted the duet's quarrel by stepping between the two war zones. "Let me handle the food. May and Max, be sure to keep these two separated for a little while." He watched all of his younger friends make their way back into the brightly colored building. He rubbed his temples, just praying that cooking wouldn't be the least of his troubles.

-

Inside the gym, the redhead lead the group through the lobby. Brock excused himself to go and fix up the dinner in the kitchen. The other four then went into the pool area. Max and May immediately ran towards the water in excitement.

"I've never seen such a large pool!" exclaimed Max excitedly

"It's so amazing! Oh!" May watched as a beautiful white Dewgong popped it's head out of the water. "Hello there." It answered back with it's traditional name call. "Aw it's so cute!" Everyone laughed in the group.

"This is the perfect time to let my pokemon out!" Ash said happily running towards the pool.

Misty shouted to him. "I'm taking Max and May on a tour of the gym and house since they've never seen it before. In the meantime, you will not leave this room."

"Aw, but Misty.."Ash pleaded in mock pain. She folded her arms and continued to walk to another set of doors on the other side of the pool. "Pssh fine. It was just some constructive food criticism... and it really needed it," mumbled the pokemon trainer before calling out his water pokemon.

-

Misty opened a pair of double doors that lead into a small vestibule which opened into a petite living room. There were soft yellow walls and pale moss carpet adorning the room and at it's center was a wooden coffee table and two couches: one was soft green and the other a deep burgundy.

As Misty lead them further into the room, the younger trainers looked to their rights and saw an opening that lead into a good sized kitchen. In the back there was a door which was open and it lead out into the gym's lobby. Brock walked through holding a box of some sort of food.

He gave the trio a wave before heading over to the pantry.

"I never assumed a house would be attached to the gym like this," Max stated following closely behind the orange haired girl.

Giggling, Misty looked down at her little friend. "It's not really a house per say since it's not too big, but it's a nice home." Both laughed and May, who was behind the two, was feeling a little left out.

Misty and Max had a good relationship and strong connection. Both had similarities in their lives and were very smart when it came down to pokemon strategies.

May remembered the time the group was split up back near Pallet Town a few months earlier. Team Rocket had made one of their unappreciated entrances and proceeded to fight the group. The battle ended with a large explosion which sent Misty and May's little brother flying over a cliff. Since May was unable to save either of the two, Misty and Max had to survive on their own in the woods that night. '_When we met back up with them, I could tell some type of relationship was made. Max was so content on sharing the adventure too._'

May looked up in surprise as she heard Misty speak again. "This is the stairway up to the bedrooms. I take it you guys are staying as it's getting late?" She laughed lightly before trotting up the steps.

-

The upstairs hallway was pretty cramped. It only lead down in one direction and their were two doors on each side of the walls. The end of the hallway was marked with a small window and a little table holding a cup of flowers in it.

Misty walked forward and touched a purple colored door on her right. "Max? You, Ash and Brock can stay in Violet and Lily's room since it's pretty big. This white door across from you." She turned to her left, slightly diagonally. "Is the bathroom."

She continued down until she reached the last two doors which were basically across from each other. She turned and faced the kids behind her and lifted her left thumb and motioned towards the blue door. "This is my bed room and the yellow door across is Daisy's room. May, you can stay in her room. They're all out of town right now so there won't be any crowding." She motioned to the trainers. "You guys can take a look now if you'd like."

"Okay!" both Hoenn trainers said enthusiastically.

"Oh Max, I have to unlock that one." Misty spoke as she followed Max back down the hallway.

He looked up. "What's different about this room?"

"Violet's paranoid. She's afraid of someone stealing her jewelry or something."

The brunette girl ignored the mumbling down the hallway as the two searched for a hidden key around the door frame. May opened the yellow door and stepped inside the large room. An expansive burgundy carpet spread out around the room and the walls matched it only with a lighter tone.

There was a large queen-sized bed with it's head board against the wall in the center of the room and a tall mirror was towards her right.

May was in awe. She'd never have expected a room so nice to be in a pokemon gym. A hotel maybe, but not a gym! She walked over to the bed and sat down on it to test it. Feeling the soft cushion beneath her, she immediately fell back with a huge smile. It was so comfy! Especially when compared to camping. "I can definitely adjust to this bed!"

She hopped up from it and stretched her arms to the ceiling. Then she spun to face it again and unhooked her supply belt and let it plop onto the bed.

'_These girls live in luxury here!_' Back at home, her family had a good sized traditional styled home. And their greenhouse, which housed the pokemon, was huge. But on the inside, her house was full of dull earth tones. It was never anything special. Her room was simple with a few pictures of her pokemon and some famous coordinators decorating the wooden walls.

May never could have figured a house to be so nice on the inside from looking at the plain outside. Although.. The giant Dewgong in the front of the gym was quite unusual as well..

There was a dull knocking on the doorframe which made May turn to see her redheaded friend peaking her head inside. "Do you like the room?"

Looking around while answering, the coordinator nodded. "It's really awesome." She walked over to Misty. "You're sister has a good taste in colors too!" she said very happily while motioning to her jacket. Red was her favorite color after all.

"Glad it makes you that happy!" Misty said tilting her head politely. "I'm also glad to see you've warmed up to it here." She was comparing May's outwardness to her timidness earlier. The brunette shrugged while smiling.

A short awkward silence passed over the duo, each looking around the room, trying to see if the other had anything more to say. Finally the gym leader broke the silence. "Well, Brock called that he has almost finished up with dinner. I better go check on Ash. Knowing him he drowned sitting in the stadium stands above the pool." They shared a laugh and Misty gave a small wave while walking down the hallway.

May puffed some air into her cheeks, but not so much she looked pouty. It was a habit. She walked back over to her bed and exhaled. She was beat from her day. Only then did she realize how her feet were sore. She hadn't exactly been the one to sit on long boat rides.

She laid back onto the mattress and tiredly closed her eyes.

Even through all her weariness she felt the day had been fulfilling in many ways. She was now back in Kanto, a place she had been as a child and for a competition. She got to see the entire household of the Cerulean City Waterflower sisters, which was an amazing feat on its own. And she was reunited with her friend.

'_Friend.._' The word drifted into her subconscious. She smiled lightly. '_Maybe I'm being a bit forward with it, but I do believe we've become real friends.. instead of plain acquaintances._'

Her head lolled to the side and she opened one eye. She starred down at her item bag as one final thought went though her mind.

'_I really wish that somehow... someway... I could think up a cute metaphor to describe today._'

-  
-  
-

**A.N.** This was long. lol  
Ah now May gets to be reunited with her good, what is it now? Friend? Hopefully Ash and Misty can solve their little bickering problem too

Okie dokes, I'll be seeing you.


End file.
